THE GOO GOO DOLLS- MUSIKFEST 2023

THE GOO GOO DOLLS- MUSIKFEST 2023
By Alexxis Steele

Anticipation was in high gear for the packed crowd awaiting The Goo Goo Dolls to hit the stage at Musikfest on Wednesday August 9th 2023. Thunderous sounds and white flashing lights preceded their opening song Broadway as vocalist Johnny Rzeznik greeted the crowd with a Hello Bethlehem!

90’s alt-rock band The Goo Goo Dolls are no strangers to Musikfest. He explained they have performed there at least 20 times previously, and stated that “It is not summer unless you play here”. Rzeznik, now 57, was still recognizable, and has not changed his look much since the band first started, in great shape and maintaining his signature spiky/shaggy hairstyle.

One thing that was noticeable was how he was sitting down on a stool, propping his right foot on a speaker to perform, and explained how he had hurt his foot. Even though he had an injury, that did not stop him from putting on a great show, which was evident by the crowd’s cheers of appreciation..

Several times during the evening he encouraged the crowd to sing along with their hits like “Slide”, and Reznzik added, “Lets forget about all the B.S” and shortly after they started the song “Black Balloon” with several big black balloons were thrown into the air to engage the crowd to hit back and forth.

He proceeded to tell a story about a girl he met and found out she was an internet social media superstar and wrote a song about it last year called “Yeah I Like You” from their 2022 album Chaos In Bloom. Their latest single- “Run All Night” had some touching lyrics that made you think, with the crowd also joining in.

Bassist Robby Takac gave Johnny Rzeznik a break a few times during the night, by singing a few songs from their early punk inspired days, with songs like ”Lucky Star” from their 1993 album, “Superstar Carwash”.

Poking fun at how far things have come with modern technology, they brought out a faux box with a reel to reel, representing what old time recording was like. Surprisingly they added two cover songs to the evening’s repertoire, which included Supertramp’s “ Give A Little Bit”, with O.A.R ‘s Sax man included, then later toward the end of the night ,they added the opening act’s lead vocalist for a rendition of Tom Petty’s “ I won’t Back Down”.